1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to telecommunications. More particularly, this invention relates to optical transceiver modules capable of transmitting and receiving optical signals.
2. State of the Art
Optical communication networks provide the advantages of increased speed and transmission capacity for carrying voice and data. In optical communication networks, optical signals (e.g., light waves) are used to carry the information over the network. Such systems employ optical transmitters and optical receivers throughout the network. There are three different types of optical links typically employed in optical communication networks. The first type is a point-to-point optical link wherein an optical transmitter communicates with one optical receiver. The second type is a point-to-multipoint optical link (or broadcast optical link) wherein an optical transmitter communicates with many optical receivers. The third type is a multipoint-to-point optical link (network optical link) wherein many optical transmitters communicate with an optical receiver.
These various types of optical links are typically realized by optical transceiver modules that employ a first set of opto-electrical components for transmitting optical signals at a particular wavelength (e.g., laser diode and accompanying driver circuitry) as well as a second set of opto-electrical components (e.g., photodetector, transimpedance amplifier, etc.) for receiving optical signals at a particular wavelength. An example of such optical transceiver modules is shown in U.S. Patent Application No. US 2002/0054409 A1 to Barter et al. However, such prior art optical transceiver modules are expensive to design and manufacture, typically requiring complex packaging solutions to integrate the transmitting and receiving components of the module as illustrated in U.S. Patent Application No. US 2003/0007754 A1 to Terashima and U.S. Pat. No. 6,628,854 B1 to Koh et al.
Importantly, the design costs and manufacturing costs associated with such prior art optical transceiver modules have provided a barrier to the widespread adoption of such modules in many applications, such as fiber-to-the-home and other passive optical network systems, and point-to-point interconnects (for example, between routers or between a server and one or more storage units).
Thus, there remains a need in the art to provide an improved optical transceiver module that efficiently and effectively integrates the transmitting and receiving components of the module in a cost effective manner.